Not losing weight
lynseyp16
Posts: 1 Member
I have an underactive thyroid and have been trying to lose weight for a few month now. I have been watching my calories and exercising. People say i look like i am losing weight a little but the scales aren't going down. My doctor says my thyroid levels are fine but I'm not sure. Anyone got any advice?
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Hands down, the best weight-loss advice I ever received was to read the Sexypants post: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p10
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This is a common frustration for many of us. Provided that you're accurately tracking your intake, there can also be other culprits. Do you know if you have any other issues other than thyroid? Do you have any hypo symptoms (despite your doc saying that they're fine)?
I know for me, in addition to thyroid, I had some other deficiencies -- vitamin D, magnesium, DHEA and insulin resistance. Low Vitamin D can make it difficult to lose weight as can issues with your adrenals (like me with the DHEA) and insulin resistance. I know that low iron and iodine issues can also be problems, and I'm sure there are others out there. I'm not saying that you have these, but it's not uncommon to have other accessory issues going on which could be making it difficult to lose/maintain weight.
The sexypants post is great if you haven't figured out how to track effectively yet -- many grossly overestimate their calorie intake. But, other than that, I don't find it that helpful personally. Or I suppose for me I just knew all that stuff already, so it didn't offer anything new to me.0 -
I feel like sometimes water weight/bloating sticks around for weeks. I've been doing the same thing I'm doing now and saw no results for almost two months, then in the last month I've finally started to lose weight and inches. Talk to your endo and get checked for Thyroid and maybe overall blood work, but honestly ... keep going!! sometimes it just takes longer.0
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Read my comment made on May 13th. Do not get frustrated thinking you can never lose it. I joined MFP and I started counting all of my calories...ate a healthy diet with no processed foods and pretty well eliminating those nasty carbs and sweets. Next I walked 5 days a week for 30-45 min. With the combo of MFP and my Fitbit One I was finally able to lose 20 lbs, which in all of my yrs trying has never happened before. Xmas came and well it has been a small battle to get back on track. Though I gained 5 back I am stabilized now and back to getting on the program again. I remember how well I felt and believe me I do not want to go back to where I was. You can do this....good luck !0
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Side note to Lindsey:
Have you done anything in particular to address your insulin resistance?0 -
Indianarose2 -- A couple things. I initially was at pre-diabetic levels and my doc put me on metformin. But, he did emphasize that it was optional. He felt that it wasn't high enough to strongly recommend it, but that metformin has been around for such a long time, he also felt that it was very safe -- so he left it up to me. I decided any help in that area would be better than none, so I used it. I also switched up my diet to limit my carbs (I was already eating a Primal style diet). I didn't go a full ketogenic diet as I know that can be bad for us thyroid challenged people because of the effect on T3, but I did look to keep them under 100 g per day and not load them at any particular time unless it was post-heavy lifting. I also generally avoided any high GI carbs on their own -- if I ate those, I made sure I had some protein, fat and/or fiber with them so they wouldn't spike insulin for me. I kept tracking calories and macros, did a heavy lifting regime with a lot of walking and once weekly HIIT hill sprint session and took weight off (which was 20 lbs or so for me).
My A1C number is now out of the pre-diabetic range and my fasting glucose is just barely high (103), but my doc would like to get them a little lower still (below 5 ideally for the A1C). I've still got 10 lbs or so to take off and that's been a very slow process. I now look to keep my carbs under 150, which frankly isn't hard to do given my Primal diet. If I get into the ideal range, I may not track carbs at all any more -- it will be a trial and error issue at that point.
However, I did do this all at the same time as my thyroid issues were being diagnosed/treated -- including the accessory issues like Vitamin-D, DHEA, etc. So, it's hard to know whether it was really one of these things, a combination of a few, or the combination of all of them that was needed to take the weight off and alleviate my symptoms.0 -
Thanks Lindsey! That helps! I was pre-pre-diabetic and keeping my weight down is what helps me best but I've been losing slow lately and was wondering if my diet might need some tweaking to keep the insulin levels well, level. I haven't been paying much attention to my carbs since ive been feeling well. I might try to look for a protein powder that is lower carb...
Thanks again and everyone please excuse this interruption in topic!0 -
I have an underactive thyroid and have been trying to lose weight for a few month now. I have been watching my calories and exercising. People say i look like i am losing weight a little but the scales aren't going down. My doctor says my thyroid levels are fine but I'm not sure. Anyone got any advice?
Stay positive and patient. This may take longer than a few months and may take more effort than the average person. The human body is a remarkable machine and while it takes years to get out of shape, one can get back into shape much faster.
Many people initially decrease their caloric intake, but having worked with some of the finest sports medicine professionals I believe the best long term approach is to exercise first incorporating resistance and cardio for ~4 weeks to stimulate metabolism, then maintain the exercise and gradually decrease the calories. Along the way make good substitutions, but don't make dramatic changes as these are all too often short lived and unsustainable.
Don't focus on weight, but body composition, tone, stamina, and just in general how you feel. Focus on your positive gains and make small changes to your routine which will have dramatic impact over time. Kaizen is a wonderful principle.0 -
How do you feel? My regular doc said he wouldn't change my prescription because my numbers were fine. But I didn't feel fine. I went to a specialist and my numbers were not fine. She upped my dose and switched it to Synthroid. I still have some issues and it's so hard to lose weight, but it's better than it was.0
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I have Hashi and I finally (but slowly) started to drop some pounds when I went gluten free. Talk to your endo about it and give an elimination diet a try. I thought I would never live through the 3 weeks of my elimination but after that I knew I felt better and had lost weight and the cravings had subsided so I have stuck with it. Also, google Jillian Michaels and hypothyroid/Hashimoto's, she has some good advice as she herself has it. There is a lot of info out there on supplements and thyroid specific diets.0
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editorgrrl wrote: »
The thought of her and how she has overcome it, is what keeps me going sometimes!0 -
Other celebs/athletes with thyroid disorders:
Nia Vardalos
Rod Stewart
Katee Sackhoff
Gail Devers
Catherine Bell
George H. W. Bush
Barabara Bush
Sofia Vergara
You certainly are not alone.0 -
I also have low thyroid. Taking 90G Armour. Been on thyroid for over 30 years. Gained lots of weight from life stresses I lost my control. Finally back on Armour thyroid as of last August. Was logging my foods here on MFP for about 6 months or so and not losing. Then discovered a large discrepancy in their food values given. Switched to a different site to log my foods and have lost 36 pounds. 16 since the middle of March. Not going to say how old I am and would never give my true age information. Lets just say I am well past menopause.
So I am doing Atkins'72 induction and sticking with it. NO food that is not on the Atkins '72 induction list crosses my lips. Loving every minute of it. The first 18 pounds lost was a total struggle of up three pounds down three pounds then maybe one more lost and back up three.
Losing weight is not ALL CICO. Eating CICO is how I got so fat. It is eating the right foods to set up the proper burning of fat. I still have another 54 pounds to go. Sickening to let myself go like but I was overwhelmed with life and ran out of will power until enough was too much. I am back on track.
Most of the low thyroid pain is gone. My hair is not falling out any longer I am feel good and work my tail off with big yard and house projects. Biggest thyroid issue still is the awful dry skin.
So do not give up. If you are serious to lose then go super low carb as in under 5 and no fat bombs Atkins bars and Frankin foods. Just all natural. I do not even go as far as doing organic. Just real food. Oh and do not trust the MFP food values given. Just my foods today from other site Calories 1,125 Fats 80.9 Carbs 5.2 Yes I went over
Protein 70.4 Exact same foods at MFP Calories 957 Carbs 4 Fats 66 Protein 94. The first site food values match the USDA MFP does not. I think MFP has great support forums but their food values are off enough to throw you in the ditch. Too many inaccurate user entries.
Good Luck Maggie0 -
I had the same problem until I started taking some B complex for my metabolism, doing a little more activity, I also lighten the load on bread, rice, dairy, flour, cheese, pasta anything that turned into starch, I definitely noticed a difference and lost 9 lbs since. If I had any of these foods I made sure it was a tiny bit like a taco with a corn tortilla tiny bit of cheese or 2 cookies low calories and fat nothing crazy Oh and lots of water
Try to eat most your meals with water instead of a fruit drink. I eat sugar free jello for my taste buds if they get crazy :P The diary on here was a huge help it kept me on track 
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